Improvement in couplings for vehicle-springs



' W. F. WHITNEY. Coupling'forVehicle-Springs.

No.210`,3s5.

Patented Nov. 26,1878l WiZL/zesses UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VIIJLIAMF. WHITNEY, OF POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN COUPLINGS FOR VEHICLE-SPRINGS.

, Specification` forming part of Letters Patent No. 210,385, datedNovember26,1878; application tiled August 22, 1878.

To all whom it 'may conc/3m.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. WHITNEY, ot' Poughkeepsie, in the countyof Dutchess and State ot' New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Spring- Couplings for Vagons; and I hereby declare thatthe following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecilication.

` One part of this invention relates to the application, in aspring-coupling for wagons and other vehicles, of an elastic cushion orbearing, which, in case of the wearing ot the bolt of the couplin g,will prevent the coupling from working'loose; and this part of myinvention consists in the placing of such cushion or elastic bearingwithin a cavity in the head of the coupling within the face thereof,whereby the necessity of elon gating the ears of the coupling to providefor the insertion of such cushion or elastic bearing is obviated.

Another part of my invention consists in a certain, construction of thecoupling-bolt and mode of combining the same with the coupling, wherebythe working loose of the said bolt and the binding ot the coupling areboth eiiectually prevented.

Figure l in the accompanying drawing rep- -rescnts a section takentransversely to the coupling-bolt, illustrating my invention applied inconnection with one of the side bars and springs ot' a side-bar wagon.Fig. 2 represents a section of the same coupling, taken in a directionparallel with the length of the coupling-bolt. Fig. 3 is a sectioncorresponding with Fig. 1, illustratinga modification of my invention.Fig. et is a perspective view of the coupling in an inverted position,the coupling-bolt being omitted.

A is the head and a c' are the ears of the coupling, which are of theordinary construction, except that a cavity, c, is provided in the headbetween the ears for the reception of the india-rubber or other elasticcushion or bearing B. This cavity is entirely within the face of thehead of the coupling and independent of the ears thereof.

C represents a part of the spring, which may be oi' the torsion,elliptic, semi-elliptic, or other kind, and which is formed in the usualway with an eye, e, at its end for the reception of the coupling-bolt D,which passes through the said eye and through holes in the ears a a ofthe coupling, the said eye being tted between the said ears a c', andbeing represented in Fig. 2 as iitted with a bushing, b b.

V The cavity c provided in the coupling for the reception ot' the plugof india-rubber or other elastic material which forms the elasticcushion B, which 'is of a form to fit tightly within said cavity, mayconsist simply of a hole bored partly through the head A of the couplingfrom its face, or a hole bored entirely through it, as shown in Figs. land 3. This hole may be of cylindrical or parallel form, or may be taperor countersunk from the face of the coupling, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3,and may be also countersunk at the back, as shown in Fig. 1, to retainthe cushion in place until the vcoupling is attached to the side bar Eor other portion of the wagon or vehicle with which the spring is to beconnected.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the cushion is represented as only thick or deep enoughto be liush with the back of the head of the coupling, and to projectsufiiciently from the face thereof to press against the exterior of theeye e of the spring and keep the said eye pressed down firmly againstthe upper part of the bolt D, notwithstanding any looseness of the boltwithin the said eye, and the said cushion has its bearing against theunder surface of the side bar E. In Fig. 3 a bolt, d, is represented asbored on the side bar opposite to and of a size and form correspondingwith the cavity c, to admit of a deeper cushion.

The cavity c and the cushion B, instead ot' being ot' circular form, maybe of oblong or other form, to obtain a longer bearing of the cushionagainst the eye c ot' the spring. The cushion, instead of being composedot' indiarubber or other sott material, may consist of a spiral-wirespring.

By thus inserting the elastic cushion or bearing within a cavity, c,formed within the face ofthe head of the coupling, and independent oi'the ears thereof, I obviate the necessity ot' making the ears a a of thecoupling of great-er length than is required when no cushion is appliedto the coupling, as is done in other couplings to which elastic cushionsare applied between the ears, and I ain thereby enabled to keep thespring as close as possible to the side bar or other part ot' the wagonwith which it is connected. rlvhis method of applying the cushion alsoprovides for its being applied to the ordinary'couplings in use bysimply drilling a hole in the head A ot' the coupling to forni thecavity c for lthe reception ot' the cushion.

The bolt D is made with a shoulder, d, at a distance from its head fullyequal to or very slightly greater than the distance from the outersurface of one ear, a', to the inner surface of the other ear, a', ofthe coupling, and the part g beyond the said shoulder, which is oi'reduced size, fits snugly within ahole in the ear a! smaller than theholes in the ear a and the eye c of the spring. The screw-thread of thesaid bolt extends back from the point to within a distance from theshoulder dI slightly less than the thickness of the ear a', so that whenthe boltis in place and the nut is screwed up tightly thc said shoulderis clamped firmly against the inside of the said ear, and so secured inplace that while it forms a iirm connection for the coupling' it cannotclamp the ears a a' upon the eye c of the spring. The bolt is alsoprovided with a feather, teat, or other projection, h, on the part whichenters ear a, to engage with a notch, groove, or recess, ,in the saidear, and so prevent the bolt from turning in the coupling.

I claim as my inventionl. In a coupling for the springs of side-barvehicles, the combination, with the spring C, having the eye c, and thehead A, attached to the under side ot' the side bar, and constructedwith a cavity, c, intermediately ot' thc cars oi' the head, of theelastic cushion B, arranged in said cavity, as and for the purposedescribed.

2. The bolt l), constructed with the iin, tcat, or projectionimmediately on the inner side ot' its head, and with a shoulder, d', inrear ot' its screw-threaded end, in combination with the head A, havingears a, a', one of which is provided with a notch, t', in its exteriorface, for receiving the iin or teat, the shoulder d bearing against theinner side of the opposite ear, substantially as shown and described,

NVitnesseS: XV. F. WHITNEY.

T. J. KEANE, W. T. I-IU'roniNsoN.

